Saturday, 29 October 2011

Vegan pumpkin scones

There are people who will wonder why I should even consider veganising my favourite pumpkin scone recipe. Then there are those who will wonder why the scones needed an egg in the first place. Well, I am no fan of eggs and this version gave me a chance to bake more with those lovely chia seeds and to write more about pumpkin scones for both Vegan MoFo.

I take great pride in my pumpkin scone recipe. I wish I knew where I found it. It has been in my recipe notebook far longer than I care to remember. I have been eating a similar pumpkin scone for far longer. I suspect the recipe came from my mum. These pumpkin scones seem to be unique to Australia - using what we know as pumpkin. The scones are small, round and fluffy. I make them often. A vegan version didn't seem too difficult. Some silken tofu and chia seeds seemed a good substitute for the egg.

It wasn't my finest moment in baking. The egg substitution wasn't a problem. But I misread the amount of milk. I was hurrying between picking up the car from the mechanics and getting Sylvia to sleep. A neighbour dropped in. The rain poured down. No excuse! I know this recipe so well. Well enough to know it wasn't coming together the way it should. I added tablespoon after tablespoon of milk until it felt right. The dough could have been slightly softer but it was close enough for jazz.

Coming out of the oven they seemed bland. I toyed with ideas of more maple syrup (for sweetness), a pinch of salt (for taste) and some soy flour (for added richness). The scones were so pale compared to my usual scones. Maybe the pumpkin hadn't been at its best!

As the scones cooled the flavour came through. I was pleasantly surprised. They were great eaten warm with melting margarine but even better at room temperature with goats cheese.

*Note: I had 160g pumpkin (probably about 200g before I peeled and trimmed). I cut it into chunks and microwaved it in a tub (covered with a vent) until the pumpkin was falling apart. I mashed it lightly with a fork. It made a scant half cup. Ideally the pumpkin should be cooled to room temperature before adding to mixture but it wasn't when I made these.

Preheat oven to 230 C.

Mash up silken tofu with chia seeds and 1 tbsp milk. Set aside. Cream margarine and maple syrup. Mix in pumpkin. Gently mix in the tofu mixture and 6 tbsp milk. Sift flour (optional - I never do it) and stir into the mixture to make a soft dough. Add extra tbp of milk if dough is too dry.

Lightly knead and roll out dough into a 2-3cm thick round on a lightly floured surface. Use a scone cutter (or if you want to be traditional, a vegemite glass!) dipped in flour to cut out scones. Roll out any scrapes of dough and cut more scones until no dough is left. Place on a baking tray. I like placing them close together so they all join up and have to be broken apart once cooked but you can space them out if you prefer.

Brush scones with milk. Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Wrap in a clean tea towel until ready to eat. Eat warm or at room temperature. Best on the day of baking but I love them the next day too.

My hubby takes care of the music and the dishes while I cook too (he's a musician as well.) And my mom was born in Scotland. These still look great. I haven't used chia seed yet. How do you like baking with them?

I'm impressed you got these made at all between the distractions you had :) It's great when you can know a recipe and product well enough to make adjustments as you go - those extra tbsp milk no doubt made all the difference. The colour and texture still look great to me and I love that they are egg free!

Thanks Vegan in brighton - wow turkey tetrazzini sounds like a challenge but a great one to nail down

Thanks GIGI - husbands who take care of music and dishes are priceless aren't they :-) I love chia seeds in baking - got into them when our local bakery started putting them in the bread and have since started to do it with mine - they seem great to bind and improve texture but have read that they are not as binding as flax - though sometimes there is a place for them still, esp depending on the texture you are after

Look what I missed while my computer was down last week! These are probably my favorite recipe from your MoFo posts (only because I love scones so much. . . .). Did you use ground chia or whole? I bet I could do a GF version, no problem! Mmmmm. :)

hi anon - I am no expert at substituting for egg - the chia also helps with replacing the egg so you could try just adding 2 tbsp of another milk other than soy instead of the tofu - my experience of scones is that soft dough is good but if it is far far too soft just add some extra flour - good luck with finding a version of the recipe that works for you

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Recipes and reflections in which our vegetarian heroine dreams of being tall and graceful as a giraffe; being a goddess in the kitchen; and being gladdened by green gadgets, green food and green politics because green is the colour of hope. See About Me for more info.